Honoring the authentic voices of Latina/o/e evaluators and the communities we serve

Abstract

This article provides a summary of the main themes discussed throughout this New Directions for Evaluation (NDE) issue. The issue underscores the importance of investing in Latina/o/e talent to increase the pipeline of Latina/o/e evaluators, committed to social justice who are trained in culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE), with a Latina/o/e lens or LatCREE. The contributing authors of this issue offer LatCREE frameworks and approaches that center the voices of Latina/o/e communities to advance humanizing their assets and counter harmful status quo programs and services that are not aligned with the needs of communities and deplete resources. Furthermore, the current issue provides a deeper understanding of the perspectives and experiences of evaluators working with and for Latina/o/e communities. We offer an issue that critically engages voices that have been woefully absent to date, that of the Latina/o/e communities. In that sense, we hope it will spur discussions and raise questions about our role and responsibility as evaluators, to disrupt harmful practices, and to shed light on the issues impacting our communities and the culturally responsive approaches that may be used to address them.